Decision Making
ANSWERS
Clinical decision-making is essential for any nurse working in a medical setting. Nursing necessitates critical thinking skills and the ability to make quick decisions based on the situation. When a nurse cannot make decisions about patient care, serious consequences can occur. In a clinical setting, a nurse must make decisions about patients’ needs and speak up about those needs as soon as possible to avoid complications. While a nurse is not the only medical professional making decisions about a patient’s health, nursing necessitates critical thinking and decision-making skills to support a medical doctor properly. The fundamentals of clinical decision-making form the foundation of critical nursing skills used at all levels of health care. A nurse may or may not be in charge of most clinical decisions, depending on the clinical setting. In most cases, a nurse will provide minor medical services while a physician makes a final diagnosis and decides on the next step in patient care. The decision-making process in nursing is primarily concerned with representing patients’ needs and requests. A physician may not always have the time to provide all the care a patient requires, so a nurse must make decisions based on a doctor’s diagnosis and any directions provided to help improve a patient’s comfort level.
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